Today there was a status conference with Judge Barbier regarding the status of this litigation. No major rulings were issued. However lots of information was presented which people may want to know about.

1. The first trial is set for February 27, 2012. This is the Transocean Limitations Trial. Judge Barbier is quite firm that this trial will go forward as scheduled and is pushing the parties to comply with the discovery deadlines so that this can happen. I think it is great news that Judge Barbier is adamant about moving this litigation along quickly.

2. The deadline for filing a claim in this case (Limitations Action) is April 20, 2011. Kudos to the Court and the PSC for making this easy to do with a simple form, and there is no filing fee. The plaintiff steering committee indicated that they would like to use the services of an expert in giving official notice to claimants of this deadline. The forms necessary to join the MDL and to preserve your claim in the limitations action can be assessed at the Gulf Oil Spill MDL Website.

3. There are currently about 349 cases in the MDL and about 40,000.00 claimants in the MDL.

4. GCCF Update: the Judge did not rule on the Motion to Supervise Ex Parte Contacts, but indicated that he will likely rule perhaps next week. In terms of GCCF statistics, about 479,000 claims have been filed, 395,000 of which are GCCF Claims on behalf of individuals and about 86,000 of which are claims on behalf of businesses. The GCCF claims to have paid out $3.3 Billion Dollars.

5. The deadline for fact depositions in the Gulf Oil Spill MDL is July 31, 2011. Expert discovery deadlines will be after that date.

6. The next status conference for MDL 2179 regarding the BP Oil Spill is on February 25, 2011 at 9:30 am central time.

This Is Not Legal Advice. Just General Information. If You Have A Claim Relating To The Gulf Oil Spill Disaster You Should Consult With Your Attorney About Specific Deadlines Relating To Your Particular Case. All Cases Are Different. If You Need Help With A Claim, Contact A Gulf Oil Spill Attorney At Goldberg Finnegan.